I've wanted to read this for a long time and now that I have some time off prior to starting training, I wanted to know if people thought it was worth the 1400 (?) pages or so? I have no issue with long books, just didn't know if this story has been over-hyped over the years. I love history, fantasy, historical fiction, all that stuff. Is this book worth the read?
It's an excellent read and a really great story. I recommend finding a good translation, the free ones on the internet are really bad and hard to comprehend. There's also some really boring parts that are just unrelated back story about political and social events in France at the time, just take it page by page and you'll get thru it.
I think there is, I've heard about abridged and unabridged versions. My guess is the abridged versions have all the unrelated stuff taken out.
This is correct. There are portions of the book that will make you think that Hugo intended the title of the book to evoke the image of his readers. There are some gems if you are willing to wade through a lot incredibly indulgent writing. Also, Hugo was rabidly nationalistic to the point of causing the non-19th-century-French-reader physical pain, so be ready for that.
Its a beautiful, tragic, story...Victor Hugo is always worth reading. People get turned off because he tends to use an incredible amount of very detailed language and it can be exhausting and the stories are intricately woven. I suggest having something to cry into like a towel because its a tear jerker. A great story of justice, injustice, sacrifice, redemption, plus the french revolution kicks ass.
